Digging Deeper to Find Life on Ocean Worlds

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To truly understand the nature of possible alien life, we must directly investigate the source—the liquid water. Enter “Ocean Worlds.” Over the past two decades, scientists have discovered that a vast number of icy moons orbit the outer giant planets in our solar system.

In February 2023, researchers from across the country gathered at a NASA-sponsored workshop to discuss a cryobot mission concept. The mission would drill through the icy crusts of Europa and Enceladus to search for life. 

Ocean worlds are a focus for astronomers searching for alien life beyond our solar system. Hycean waterworlds are a new class of potentially habitable exoplanets. 

In our solar system, there is evidence of oceans on: 

  • Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus 
  • Jupiter’s moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto 
  • Neptune’s moon Triton 
  • Pluto 

Scientists believe that Venus and Mars may have had oceans billions of years ago. 

The Ocean Worlds Signals Through the Ice (STI) team is developing communication technologies to enable subsurface exploration of ocean worlds.

The best-established water worlds in the Solar System, other than the Earth, are Callisto, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, and Titan

In addition to the 14 potential ocean worlds listed above, there are other bodies in the solar system that may have oceans: 

Dione, Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, Oberon, Mimas

Earth is the only planet in the solar system with liquid water on its surface. The other oceans are covered by thick layers of ice.

Yes, there are water worlds in space

  • Exoplanets Astronomers have found evidence of two exoplanets that are “water worlds”. These planets are located in a planetary system 218 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. They are unlike any planets found in our solar system. The exoplanets are slightly larger than Earth and have a density between that of a rocky world and a gas-giant outer planet. 
  • Water vapor cloud Scientists have found a water vapor cloud in a quasar that is 30 billion miles away. The cloud is estimated to contain at least 140 trillion times the amount of water in all of Earth’s oceans.

Water on planets in the Solar SystemJupiter: Water in frozen and vapour form. Saturn: Water in frozen and vapour form. Uranus: Frozen water. Neptune: Frozen water

Here are some other planets with water: 

  • Uranus This “ice giant” planet is made up of 80% or more of a hot, dense fluid of water, methane, and ammonia. 
  • Neptune This “ice giant” planet is thought to have a supercritical water ocean beneath its clouds. 
  • Callisto Jupiter’s second largest moon is about 50% water. 
  • Ganymede The largest moon in our solar system has a large underground saltwater ocean. 
  • Mars Water ice is present at both of Mars’s poles. 

Water is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, both of which are present in space.

Earth is the only planet in our solar system with stable liquid water on its surface. On other planets, liquid water would either freeze or evaporate. The temperatures on other planets are either too hot for liquid water or too cold

Some reasons why other planets might not have oceans include: 

  • Surface gravity: Mars’ surface gravity might be too low to retain enough water to form an ocean. 
  • Temperature: Venus might have been too hot to form oceans. 
  • Pressure and temperature: A planet needs to be self-gravitating to hold its spherical shape, which requires a lot of mass. This means the pressure and temperature in the inner regions are usually high

Without oceans, life on Earth would not exist. Oceans are essential to life on Earth: 

  • Food: We eat fish from the ocean. 
  • Oxygen: Oceans generate most of the oxygen we breathe. 
  • Climate: Oceans regulate the planet’s temperature. 
  • Economy: Oceans support many sectors of the world’s economy, including tourism, fisheries, and shipping. 

If oceans disappeared, the water cycle would stop and food chains would collapse. Plants and animals would die immediately. The planet’s surface would become much hotter and drier, and fires would spread across the continents

Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plants, animals, and other organisms that live in the salt water of seas or oceans, or the brackish water of coastal estuaries. At a fundamental level, marine life affects the nature of the planet. Marine organisms, mostly microorganisms, produce oxygen and sequester carbon

There are no ethnic groups of humans that live underwater. However, there are humans who have built underwater habitats to live in. 

The Bajau people, also known as “sea nomads,” have lived at sea for over 1,000 years.  They spend most of their lives on boats, traveling to find food and avoid trouble.  The Bajau have developed special adaptations to their oceanic lifestyle.  They can reportedly hold their breath for up to several minutes. 

Humans cannot breathe underwater because our lungs are not adapted to handle water.

According to a Quora user, intelligent marine animals don’t evolve into civilizations. However, some say that underwater civilizations could exist in places like hydrothermal vents and seafloor hot springs. These environments are often found near mid-ocean ridges. 

Some say that it would be difficult for an underwater civilization to advance beyond the Neolithic era. This is because metalworking would be difficult or impossible underwater. The deep ocean is also mostly cold and empty, with little energy and nutrients. 

There are many submerged ancient cities. These include: 

  • Pavlopetri: A civilization that is thousands of years old 
  • Ancient lagoon civilization: Located off the coast of Sweden, this civilization is over 65 feet below sea level 
  • Underwater Stonehenge: Stretches for miles under a lake in Europe(full article source google)

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